Public Deeds: Gigs and Garlands

Monday

Jan 28, 2013 at 12:57 AM

On this day in 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on television for the first time. He was a guest on the CBS program "Stage Show" from New York.

On this day in 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on television for the first time. He was a guest on the CBS program "Stage Show" from New York.Later that year, on Aug. 6, Presley made local history by playing three shows at the Polk Theatre in Lakeland. While there, he signed his name on a third-floor dressing room wall.Presley last performed in Lakeland at the Civic Center — now The Lakeland Center — on Sept. 4, 1976. "Elvis, who looked healthy and enthused, settled down," a Ledger article reported, "by letting his still-rich-and-full voice take control of ‘Love Me Tender' and ‘America the Beautiful.'?"Presley died Aug. 16, 1977, in his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn. He was 42.

GARLAND: To Gov. Rick Scott for proposing that all public schoolteachers get an across-the-board raise of $2,500 for the 2013-2014 school year.The Legislature would have to appropriate the $480 million to fund the salary increase.A related gig to Scott, however, for not including details of how to accomplish the increase, how it would mesh with the collective bargaining system by which teacher salaries are negotiated between school districts and teacher unions at the county level, and how this raise and others for teachers would be handled in subsequent years."The concern comes in how the governor intends to fund this raise not only now but well into the future," said Marianne Capoziello, president of the Polk Education Association. "Teachers don't need a one-time bonus, they need sustainable pay that leads them to be able to build their future."Cynics will say that the proposed raise is a political move by Scott to recover ground lost when he supported cuts in school funding by $1.3 billion in 2011, and a requirement for teachers and other workers in the state pension plan to contribute 3 percent of their pay to their pensions. While one hopes decisions will be aimed at benefitting the people, governors are elected and decisions are often calculated with influential supporters in mind.Scott pushed a $1 billion increase in education funding in 2012, but that amount only allowed the state to keep up with growth in schools.This year, in addition to the salary increase, Scott says he will call for additional increases in public school funding. The State Board of Education has asked for an increase of $891 million that is separate from Scott's pay-raise proposal.Most who care about education will welcome the chance to build up the state's terribly underfunded schools. However, the clearer the better.

GARLAND: To the city of Lakeland for recommending 15 new red-light cameras in addition to the nine cameras in use. The cameras are intended to catch those who do not stop for red lights.Red-light cameras are on firm ground following a survey released by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles this month. It showed an overall decrease in crashes at intersections with red-light cameras. The survey used statistics collected from Hillsborough County, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.A caveat: No discussion of income expected from a given location should be undertaken if the City Commission decides to take up the staff recommendation for new cameras. Even the appearance of using red-light cameras as a cash cow to fatten city coffers would be damaging to the safety purpose on which camera decisions must be based.A related gig: To the city of Lakeland for failing to make statistics of intersection crashes foremost, and easy for all to access.As City Commissioner Edie Yates said Jan. 4 about the existing cameras, "Before we make the final decision, I want to see updated crash information."Indeed, crash information for all intersections with red-light cameras — both substantially before installation and after — should be posted and kept updated, and prominently promoted on the city's website.

GIG: To the Florida Legislature for creating roadblocks in 2011 for unemployment compensation.Applications must be online, although unemployed people often do not have access; a 45-question test is daunting; and five job-hunting contacts per week must be documented.As a result, the rate of unemployed Floridians receiving compensation has dropped to 15 percent vs. 27 percent nationwide.The Legislature should reform the requirements.